Joseph saxton



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH SAXTON, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

MODE oF SEALIYNG LETTERS, ate.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 22,982, dated February 15, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH SAXTON, of the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the. Art of Sealing and Securing Letters, Documents, and other Similar Matters, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of my invention is to provide a mode of sealing and securing letters and other similar matters, or of affixing seals, which can readily be performed without risk of damage to the articles sealed, which will give a good impression of the device on the stamp or die used, and at the same time produce a seal without undue weight or bulk, which cannot be atfected by atmospheric changes of temperature plied, and at the same time itis liable to become even too fluid, while, if not hot enough, it will not adhere well and does not take a good impression. It is also difficult, from the tenacious character of the wax, to obtain exactly the quantity required for the seal, and in the case of large seals a powerful and costly press is needed to give a good impression. Above all, letters so sealed, when exposed to very warm weather, are exceedingly liable to have the wax so much softened that not only is the impression injured, but the letters adhere to other letters or objects with which they may come in contact so firmly that a separation cannot be made withoutinjury. On this account alone the Post-Office Department has frequently given public notice requesting the disuse of sealin g-wax.

To obviate the difficulties attendant upon the use of sealing-wax, it has been proposed to use solid metal seals, which were to be passed through perforations in the parts to be secured, and fastened by riveting. Various modifications of this mode of sealing have been proposed. As the part turned over by riveting has but a small surface by which to hold, two pieces have been proposed, one of them perforated and used so as to furnish a surface upon which the rivet ot' the other might bear, and as no such seal could receive any impression without the employment of a very great force, sufficient in most cases to injure the papers included in the envelope, the ordinary process of sealing with wax has been superadded. Moreover, such seals, to be perfectly secure, require in general a greater weight of material than the ordinary seals of wax. All of these disadvantages I overcome by my improved process of sealing, which I now proceed to describe in detail.

The material to be used is one of the more fusible metals, such as tin, or, still better, one of the alloys of bismuth, lead, and tin, known as fusible metal. A good proportion for the metals in this alloy is two parts of bismuth, one of lead, and one of tin, forming an alloy which melts at a temperature between 200 and 201 Fahrenheit.

The envelope or other article to be scaled is prepared by makingonc or more perforations through the parts to be united at the place which is to be covered by the scalp If one of these parts is a ribbon or other textile or porous fabric, its structure is eminently suited to the purpose without any special perforation.

I then put upon the place of the seal the proper quantity of the metal or alloy previously heated to fusion. As the metal, when melted, may be easily poured, the proper quantity may at once, be melted in a spoon over a spirit-lamp, or else a larger quantity being melted in a suitable receptacle, the quantity desired for the seal may be dipped out by a spoon made justlarge enough to contain it, and then poured upon the place of the seal. The fused metal, standing upon the spot with a rounded form, like a drop of mercury, and without intimate contact with the paper or other matter beneath, does not rapidly lose its heat, and allows time for the subsequent impression without risk of pre1na bearing the device to be imprinted upon the seal is then brought down with a quick and sharp blow upon the fused metal, when the latter is driven through the perforations in the parts to which the sealis intended to be secured, and by the cooling action of the stamp and of the parts into which it is driven the metal at once becomes solid, retaining the impression of the stamp and its hold upon the parts into which it has been driven.

When it is only desired to attach together certain parts or pieces, the stamp may be made without a device; but the stamp, even if plain, no less gives the impression and leaves the mark of its surface upon the seal.

Various modifications may be introduce into this process without-departing from the spirit of my invention. The seal may be directly attached to a surface, which, if of porous wood, or of leather-such as buckskinor of tape or ribbon, need have no special perforation made in it. In sealing letters or documents a tape or ribbon uniting certain parts may be so placed as to be included in the seal. In the case of letters it is very advantageous to introduce a bit of tape, ribbon, or other textile or porous fabric between the envelope and the included paper, such substance forming an, excellent material into which the metal may spread on the inside of the envelope, whereby the security of the seal is greatly increased. By following out this principle a seal with devices on both sides may be made, one device being on a stamp placed below the ribbon or other similar material, and the other being on the stamp employed to give the flow upon the fused metal or alloy placed upon the ribbon. By the force of the blow the metal or alloy is driven through the porous fabric and made to conform to the device upon the under stamp, while at the same time the upper stamp imprints its own device upon the portion above, both stamps at the same time causing the metal in contact with their faces to become solid.

When it is intended merely to connect together a number of papers, and a perforation is made quite through them, a ribbon or other porous material should be placed on the under side, to prevent the fused metal, when poured upon its proper place, from being chilled by coming in contact with the metallic die or stamp used on the under side.

This process does not require a heavy and continued pressure, as in the case of sealing with wax. A short and quick blow only is requisite. This may be given by the hand bringing the stamp down rapidly upon the fused metal; but I prefer employing the stamp when attached to my improved sealing-press, which I have contrived for this special purpose, and

for which I am about to apply for Letters Patent.

In the ordinary process of sealing with wax the material must first be made to adhere to the part to be sealed, and the impression is made afterward, these two processes each requiring separate attention to attain its own desired end. In my improved process the'making of the impression and the attaching the seal are simultaneous, and the whole occupies less time than the ordinary method, while the fused metal, even after having been put upon the place to be sealed, may readily be removed previous to the act of sealing, allowing of a facility of change not possessed by wax.

In selecting the metals or alloys to be used in this improved process those should be employed whose melting-points are so low that even when heated to perfect fluidity they will not produce injury in the paper or other matter to be sealed. It is not advantageous to heat the metal much above its melting-point, as it is desirable that the contact of the stamp should promptly solidify the whole of the metal in the seal.

For many purposes pure tin may be used,

especially where a great degree of toughness is required. Fine solder or an alloy of two parts of tin and one of lead, having a lower meltingpoint than tin alone, may also be used; but I prefer the alloys known as fusible metal,con taining bismuth, on account of their lower melting-point, and also because they give a sharper impression of the stamp, while when suddenly solidified in the manner above described they attain a toughness of texture sufficient forordinary seals.

Owing to the sharp impression and the strength of the seals made by my improved process, it is not necessary that the device should have great relief, and in this way I am enabled to diminish both the bulk and the weight of the seal without impairing its efiiciency.

I am aware that impressions have been made upon fusible metal for the purpose of copying devices. This I do not claim.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The process of sealing by means of fused metal or alloy, whereby the impression is made and the seal secured simultaneously,substantially as above described.

JOS. SAXTON.

Witnesses:

WM. A. LAYTON, GEORGE B. SCHAEFFER. 

